Legend: Ultimate Edition

-Universal (1985)

Summary

In a world where heroes don't wear pants, comes LEGEND!

My Thoughts

This is the DVD edition of Legend that all you hordes of Legend fans, or Legendarians as you prefer, have been waiting for. This edition features two cuts of the film, the first being the never-before-seen director's cut, and the other the American theatrical release.

Legend is a fantasy film in the pre-Lord of the Rings era, so if you haven't seen it before don't expect any epic battles. The film is similar to director Ridley Scott’s film Blade Runner, because the emphasis seems to fall on the imagery rather than plot and dialogue. Also like Blade Runner, the cinematography of Legend is simply amazing; with much of the film shot much like a beautiful photograph. And finally, like in Blade Runner, not much actually happens.

The plot begins with Princess Lily meeting up with her woodsy boy-toy Jack. Jack is a child of nature and I guess he just runs around in the woods all day without any pants. Lily loves Jack, and he's got something really special to show her… no not that, you perv. He knows where a couple of Unicorns hang out and he wants Lily to sneak a peak at them. Unfortunately, there are a trio of goblin things watching them, and when Lily is dumb enough to try to touch one of the unicorns, the lead Goblin shoots it with a poison dart. The goblins cut off the unicorn's horn, run away, and Jack gets pissed at Lily, even though he didn't tell her NOT to touch the unicorn. I have often wondered that if it was such a horrible thing to do, wouldn’t you think he'd have given her at least a little Unicorn preparation beforehand?

Things continue to go downhill for the good people from this point on, because the world freezes over. Eventually, Jack has to become a hero in order to save Lily from one of the coolest looking movie villains of all time named Darkness. You know you’re a badass when you go by the name Darkness.

The main differences between the two versions of the film are the pacing and the musical score. The orchestral score on Disc one is very good, but for me the Tangerine Dream soundtrack on Disc Two adds a more exciting feeling to the film and is catchier. Another big difference between the two films is their beginnings. The beginning of the director's cut is rather ho-hum and leaves the viewer a little lost as to what is happening. The American theatrical release attempted to fix this problem by having a scrolling text explaining the background of the story. There are a few other smaller cuts made to the film with some good and some bad. The cut that I didn't understand in the American version was the witch's scene that had Jack trying and failing a few times before he actually killed the horrid thing. In the American release it is way too short, and isn’t half as frightening as in the director's cut. So which one do I like better? As a film, the director's cut is better, but I prefer the American one simply because it was the cut of the film I grew up with. I'm glad I got the chance to see the other version though, and both are worth watching.

In both editions of Legend the biggest problem overall is that it never seems to really click. The plot isn't enough to grab you and make you want to keep watching, and the dichotomy between the dark and seriousness and the humor is almost too jarring. At one point the feeling is darkness and fear, and at the next it’s like the Three Stooges are on screen. What this film is good at is being pretty, but not for much else. Still, as an exquisite moving photograph I still enjoy it enough to recommend it for someone who might be into this sort of thing. I just hope that someday Ridley Scott will give Blade Runner the same treatment he gave to Legend. 

Extras

The packaging is a simple clear fold out slip case that very appealing to the eye. The motion menus are also great looking simple affairs that I’m fond of. This is a two disc set so I'll break it down by disc.

Disc 1: Disc one features the never-before-seen directors cut of the film with a Dolby 5.1 surround and the awesome DTS track.  Also included, is the director's commentary by Ridley Scott. Ridley's commentary delves into the creation of Legend, and highlights the differences between the two versions.

Disc 2: Disc 2 contains the American cut of the film and the meat of the extras. The most extensive of which is the documentary, “Creating a Myth” that is a worthwhile and in depth watch.

There are a couple of lost scenes of note, the first of which is an alternative opening that was fairly recently rediscovered, and a scene called the “fairy dance” which they try to recreate as best as they can using production photos, storyboards, and the left over audio. It’s great to have both of these scenes for posterity and they really help round out this edition.

The storyboards that are included are also worth checking out. The ending of the film might have been a little different and a lot better, but I’m not going to ruin it for anyway. I’d check this out for sure if you’re a fan of Legend at all.

Also included are two trailers, some television spots, photo galleries, production notes, filmographies, “recommended” picks, and a DVD Rom script-to-screen viewer. Whew.

If that isn’t enough there is one other really great feature that is Bryan Ferry “Is Your Love Strong Enough?” music video. Normally, I don’t give a damn about a music video, but this one is simply hilarious. It’s almost worth purchasing the edition for. The video begins with shadow puppets (I’m not kidding) and gets worse from there. The whole thing consists of Mr. Ferry singing in what looks to be a clown outfit and dancing like Elaine from Seinfeld as he emotes to Princess Lily. Hilarious!

Score:

Film: 7.5

Extras: 9.0

Edition: 9.0

-Paul